Chicago Bears Release Kicker Cody Parkey

The Chicago Bears have taken action on what most NFL observers thought to be a foregone conclusion–releasing kicker Cody Parkey.

Chicago hoped that Parkey would provide some stability in the kicking game when they signed him to a four year deal last march. The deal included $9 million in guaranteed money and the Bears will take a $4,437,000 hit against the salary cap once the transaction is made official when the new league year begins on March 1.

Parkey was inconsistent throughout the season missing three extra point attempts and eight field goals. His biggest miscue was missing a 43 yard field goal with time expiring against the Philadelphia Eagles in the first round of the NFC playoffs. A ‘make’ would have given the Bears a victory but instead was slightly tipped before bouncing off the left upright and the crossbar.

The Bears might have been willing to deal with a missed kick in a crucial situation. What they couldn’t deal with was watching Parkey make a ‘bit’ out of the situation. Parkey appeared on the ‘Today’ show just five days after the missed kick and the Bears 16-15 loss to the Eagles. That made head coach Matt Nagy none too happy:

“For me, you understand that we always talk about a ‘we’ and not a ‘me’ thing. We always talk as a team, we win as a team, we lose as a team. You know, I just, I didn’t necessarily think that that was too much of a ‘we’ thing.”

Bears GM Ryan Pace all but said the team screwed up by signing Parkey:

“You’re never going to bat a thousand [in free agency]. I know Cody wishes he had a better season. We wish he had a better season, too. We’ve just got to evaluate that now. You’ve got to be honest with yourselves in these. I think as we go forward, that’s when we’ve got to be real and say, hey, that’s an important position for us. It’s a position of emphasis.

A Chicago area bar ran a contest where over 100 entrants tried to make the same kick that Parkey missed–a 43 yard field goal in the snow. There were no winners. NFL Super Bowl futures odds have the Chicago Bears installed as a +1400 choice to win Super Bowl LIV.